The present invention relates to a motor vehicle, particularly a convertible, having a rollover bar which can be swivelled around a swivel axis fixed at the vehicle from a lowered inoperative position into a upwardly directed supporting position and back.
Rollover bars of this type are known as shown in DE-PS 34 10 676 and DE-PS 37 32 562. They essentially have a U-shape with a U-web extending approximately along the whole width of the vehicle. At the free ends of the U-legs, the rollover bars are connected with the vehicle body in such a manner that they can be swivelled around a transverse axis of the vehicle. The rollover bars are equipped with driving systems which, in a sensor-controlled manner, swivel the bar very rapidly into its upwardly directed supporting position. It is a disadvantage in this case that the bars move in the direction of the vehicle occupants' heads. In addition, it is difficult to integrate the swivel bearings and the driving mechanism into the vehicle concept.
A U-shaped rollover bar shown in DE-OS 15 55 955 extends approximately along the whole width of the vehicle and the lateral U-legs thereof can be displaced in vertical guides. The bar, in a sensor-controlled manner, can also be displaced from its pushed-in inoperative position into the extended supporting position. This construction results in technical difficulties because, during the extending and retracting, one side of the bar may tilt with respect to the other side of the bar, so that the operational reliability is questionable.
It is an object of the invention to provide a motor vehicle having a rollover bar of the above-mentioned type that offers as much safety as possible and, in a space-saving manner, can be integrated into conventional vehicle concepts.
According to the present invention, this object has been achieved by providing a rollover bar which can be swivelled around a swivel axis extending essentially in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. It is also advantageous to provide two rollover bars which can be swivelled around at least approximately parallel swivel axes. A rollover protection system of this type can be integrated relatively easily into a vehicle concept in the area of the rear partition. In this case, the rollover bars swivel out of a pocket-type indentation in upward direction essentially in the plane of the bar. They are therefore moved past the vehicle occupants' heads in the rear and are not moved in the direction of the heads. Should one of the two bars not or no longer be operative, the other bar still offers good protection against rollover.